Have MOOCs lived up to the hype? - Up next in Senate: Reauthorization wheels start turning - First bulletbroof whiteboards, now this

By LIBBY A. NELSON

09/19/2013 09:37 AM EDT

HAVE MOOCS LIVED UP TO THE HYPE? — Hard to remember for those fluent in edu-jargon, but “MOOC” joined the higher education vocabulary just last academic year (need proof? http://bit.ly/16g5UN4). Now this year could determine whether they live up to their transformative potential. Pro Education’s Caitlin Emma scans the landscape: “Massive open online courses were supposed to revolutionize — and democratize — higher education. But two years since their debut, the initial buzz seems like nothing but hype. … Millions have signed up for online courses sponsored by elite colleges, yet they report high dropout rates and disappointing student performance among those who stick it out. A quietly released report last week on a partnership between San José State University and major course provider Udacity found that at-risk kids performed particularly poorly and students found the courses confusing. ... And the courses have yet to figure out a sustainable business model. … Some college faculty members don’t trust the courses or actively work against their formation, in part for the preservation of their own institutions. These courses largely escape the regulatory environment that governs the delivery of traditional higher education courses. Assessing MOOC students is still a puzzle, as is measuring whether a course is a good one. And one big issue remains almost entirely mostly unresolved: There are are still too few ways to translate a student’s collection of course experience into credits or a degree.” The full story: http://politico.pro/1eq4ecQ

— Congress intrigued, but not convinced: Members had plenty of questions about pricing, accreditation and the pros and cons of MOOCs for an assistant dean at Georgia Tech on Wednesday. The university offers a master’s degree in computer science with Udacity for under $7,000. "To me, the jury’s still out, and I’m a little wary of their widespread adoption before we talk about the consequences, positive and negative," said Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), who raised concerns about whether the courses could serve low-income students: "Those students need to be in a class with a professor who knows how to work with students who might be struggling."

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UP NEXT IN THE SENATE: REAUTHORIZATION WHEELS START TURNING — The Senate HELP committee meets today to talk accreditation, with one witness for each side of the “triad” — states, feds and accreditors. Accreditation is expected to be a hot topic in the Higher Education Act reauthorization, so most aren’t surprised that it’s first out of the gate.

— What they’ll say: Terry Hartle of the American Council on Education will brief the Senate on the federal government’s role in ensuring quality with testimony that implies the department’s role has grown too complex for even its own staff to administer effectively. (A case in point: Fines levied 17 years after universities violated department rules — now known as the “cicada fine.”) “The eligibility and certification function of the department has grown dramatically and resembles a garden where some extensive pruning is necessary,” Hartle says in a summary of his testimony. “The state role in the triad, although important, is uneven. Third, accreditors have been forced to take on an oversized role with respect to the triad, and the Department of Education has significantly increased its control over them.”

— Other testimony: Paul Lingenfelter, who retired this week as president of the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, will talk about the history of accreditation. “While I believe the fundamental structure and functions of the triad are sound and indispensable, all of the actors in the triad must make adjustments in order to address new demands and take advantage of new opportunities in higher education,” he says in prepared remarks. Marshall Hill, executive director of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements, will talk about the role of states in quality assurance. And Susan Phillips, provost at the State University of New York at Albany, will talk about the role of accreditors.

GOOD MORNING! HAPPY THURSDAY! POLITICO Pro Education’s launch went off without a hitch Wednesday — and with plenty of news for our subscribers. We look forward to continuing to bring you the most important education policy news every day. In other news, today is the 31st anniversary of the first documented usage of emoticons, on the Carnegie Mellon University Bulletin Board system. :) :D Stay in touch with emoticons, tweets or plain old emails: lnelson@politico.com and @ libbyanelson. Follow us at @ morning_edu and @ POLITICOPro.

GATES-BACKED INBLOOM ON SHAKY GROUND -- From Pro Education's Stephanie Simon: "A troubled $100 million student database funded by the Gates Foundation experienced another setback this week when a key client, a suburban Colorado school district, announced it would give parents a choice in whether to include their children’s personal and academic information.The Jefferson County Public School District, heeding an outcry from parents concerned about student privacy, announced that families would be able to “opt out” of the inBloom database when it comes into use next year. Parents who have been organizing opposition to the database through an online petition and town hall meetings hailed the move. “It’s a strong victory for student privacy,” parent activist Rachael Stickland said. The inBloom database was envisioned as a national solution to school districts’ perennial complaints that student data is fragmented and teachers must log into multiple systems and deploy overlapping programs to get a complete sense of a child’s academic progress and special needs." http://politico.pro/18BTW7g

SHUTDOWN COUNTDOWN — The Office of Management and Budget told federal agencies to prepare for a possible shutdown Oct. 1: http://1.usa.gov/16g87rV The House plans to vote on a continuing resolution Friday and propose a one-year increase in the debt ceiling that also delays Obamacare, POLITICO’s Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan report: http://politi.co/16g9eYF

NOW LIVE: PRO EDUCATION — DON'T MISS OUT!: The 6 a.m. version of Morning Education is now exclusive to Pro Education readers. You will still receive the 9:30 a.m. version, but for early-bird access sign up for Pro Education today. Pro Education also delivers real-time policy news and analysis throughout the day — giving you the edge you need to do your job. Interested? Email info@politicopro.com or call (703) 341-4600. Read more about the launch here: http://politi.co/1eL4Afu

FOR WATER COOLER (OR HAPPY HOUR): FIRST BULLETPROOF WHITEBOARDS, NOW THIS — School security products seem to have a growing market. The Hartford Courant reports on a Connecticut company that makes a school safety kit with a stun gun, doorstop, strobe light pepper spray, 13-foot window ladder and smoke grenade. The kit will retail for up to $1,000 and is based on a survival kit made for U.S. embassies meant to help teachers in the midst of a shooting. People feel "there must be one product or practice that we're missing because these incidents continue to happen despite our proven strategies post-Columbine and our best practices," a school security consultant told the Hartford paper. "People feel that they must be missing something." The story: http://cour.at/16gagE0

REUTERS TAKES ON GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT — Even though the Obama administration’s 2011 rules on for-profits were never enforced, they changed the sector anyway, a Reuters article argues. It takes a look at the sector’s growth and the decades of interplay between the Education Department and for-profit colleges. “The regulations have already changed for-profits, and even they admit it’s largely been for the better,” senior opinion editor Chadwick Matlin writes. “But now there’s a new debate taking place, and it’s one that demonstrates just how hard it is to force colleges to be accountable for how much debt their students have after they leave. The rise and regulation of for-profits can help explain how, for some, college went from being a gateway to the middle class to being an obstacle along the way; and what we can, or should, do about it.” The story: http://reut.rs/16aRJ2I

JEB BUSH CALLS DOJ LAWSUIT ‘PAYBACK’ — The former Florida governor, at a press conference with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, assailed the Obama administration’s lawsuit over Louisiana’s voucher program. “This is purely political, perhaps payback for political elections of the past,” Bush said. “I have no idea why they have made this decision, but I do know for a fact that we need to transform our education system state by state to assure that more than just 25 or 30 percent of our kids are college- or career-ready.” Pro Education’s Caitlin Emma with the story: http://politi.co/16gaBXp

TODAY’S FEDERAL REGISTER: MORE RULEMAKING ON THE WAY — The next item the Education Department tackles: Rulemaking for the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization. That still leaves plenty of topics from their preliminary hearings on the list for later on. The department is taking nominations for stakeholder representatives now, with negotiations slated to begin in January: http://bit.ly/16gcDXx

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT — Pro Education’s Stephanie Simon and Nirvi Shah look at the strange bedfellows and the millions of dollars pouring into pro- and anti-Common Core fights across the country: http://politi.co/16gaKdp And despite Michelle Rhee’s hope that her town halls would create civility between reformers and foes, she ended up in a war of words with the American Federation of Teachers’ Randi Weingarten: http://politico.pro/16gbXRV

WHOSE FAULT IS PHILLY MESS? — About one-third of Philadelphians blame Gov. Tom Corbett, and another third blame Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, according to a new poll from the Pew Charitable Trusts. Just 11 percent blame teachers’ unions. Corbett faces reelection in 2014 and has been polling badly so far, even among Pennsylvania Republicans. Philadelphia City Paper: http://bit.ly/16gc2F6

TEXTBOOK FLAP OVER 2ND AMENDMENT — A textbook meant to prepare students for the Advanced Placement exam in U.S. History interprets the Second Amendment as “The people have a right to keep and bears arms in a state militia.” It’s kicked up a conservative firestorm — and the book now has nearly 400 1-star Amazon reviews, all posted within the past few days ( http://amzn.to/16gez2a). The National Review: http://bit.ly/16geATQ

REPORT ROLL CALL — New report from the Government Accountability Office on Race to the Top and teacher evaluation systems: http://1.usa.gov/16gcP8U. … Can online learning communities achieve the goals of traditional professional learning communities? What the literature says, from the Institute of Education Sciences: http://1.usa.gov/18zDape.

TODAY IN D.C. AND ONLINE — Aspen Institute and the Achievement Network discussion on "From What to How: Leading for Common Core Success at the School Level," 9 a.m.: http://bit.ly/16gdd7x. … Senate HELP Committee hearing on accreditation and the Higher Education Act, 10 a.m.: http://1.usa.gov/1dlFv6E. … A Twitter conversation about Latino civil rights and higher education with Juan Cartagena, president and general counsel of LatinoJustice PRLDEF. 2 p.m. Use hashtag #ttgpchat.

MORNING ED’S SYLLABUS

— Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is announcing $5.5 million in grants to boost digital learning and to help high school students earn college credit. The Washington Post: http://wapo.st/14jfdPJ

— Occidental College settles with students in sexual assault case. The Los Angeles Times: http://lat.ms/1gzS2D2

— More than 65,000 students are on waiting lists at Sacramento community colleges. The Sacramento Bee: http://bit.ly/16gcmnk

** A message from AccessLex Institute: AccessLex Institute advocates for federal policies that will benefit not only students, but also society at large.

Graduate and professional students go on to become lawyers, doctors, social workers and other client-serving professionals—critical jobs that require additional education after college. Policies that enable more people to go to law school, for example, will have an impact that reaches beyond individual law students—it will affect each client that these lawyers serve. Law school graduates fill high-need roles to ensure people from all walks of life are not denied access to adequate legal representation. Without the right federal policies in place, this same scenario can be applied to various fields across our economy.

That’s why AccessLex Institute will #MakeTheCase that policies which provide improved access, increased affordability and better value to all students are the right policies for America.

About The Author

Libby A. Nelson is an education reporter for POLITICO Pro and the author of Morning Education. Before joining POLITICO, she was a reporter at Inside Higher Ed, where she covered federal higher education policy – including Congress, the Education Department and higher education issues in the 2012 campaign -- and religious colleges. She got her start as an education reporter at the Chronicle of Higher Education, where she interned for nine months in 2009-10 and reported on federal policy, including sweeping student loan legislation included in the health care overhaul.

A 2009 graduate of Northwestern University, Nelson also interned on the metro desks of The New York Times, the St. Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times) and the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune. Her first real job in journalism was in Scranton, Pa., where she worked as a regional reporter for the Times-Tribune. She grew up in suburban Kansas City and speaks fluent French.